Apples, Brooding and Crosswords
by SirLordWhAtEvEr
Summary: All but one of which actually appear in this One-shot. Along with Post-war scenarios and some fluff. And a Harry/Luna pairing. Enjoy.


A/N: Something to prove that I'm not dead. I wanted to write something like this and now I'm going back to my stories. I'll start writing more on the 'Story of Happenings' story now. That'll be up within the week, I hope.

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Harry Potter sat alone in the darkened Gryffindor bedroom. His bed was stained with dirt and blood; most of it his. It was finally over. Voldemort was fully and completely dead this time. No life anchors, loopholes or misconceptions. He had died in battle. There were no cowering defenders, no white knight appearing when it looked bleakest. There was anarchy, war. A small lull in the battle occurred when Harry and Voldemort met. It was a short fight. There was very little baiting or taunts. Five spells were flung in total. The last one was the killing curse. Almost half of the remaining wizarding world had seen 'The Chosen One' shout those two words. They had seen the green light leave his wand when he used an unforgivable curse.

As Voldemort's body hit the floor, so did those of all his followers. Anyone who had taken the mark died the moment their master did. The survivors didn't see this, though. Their eyes were fixed on the tired form of their saviour. He stared back. No one moved. He sighed; knowing what would happen eventually. So he left. He turned away from the crowds standing silent on the school grounds and walked back into Hogwarts.

He knew they would cast him as the next Dark Lord in waiting. He knew they would try to arrest him. It was because they were afraid. They were afraid of what he could do to those corrupt officials who took the bribes with glee.

He didn't need that. The public wouldn't join his side. They would fear him too. After all he did. He would be hated and feared far worse than Voldemort was. He would have laughed but it didn't fit his current desire.

No, he would leave them all behind. He had nothing to stay for. Hermione and Ron were together and wouldn't need him hanging on, dragging them back. He'd just stay away.

He should just stay here all his life. He could stay and brood silently in the dark. That suited him just fine.

Unfortunately, it didn't suit whoever the new visitor to the room was. He heard the curtains shift and felt the light hit his face. He slowly opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of messy blond hair hanging by the window.

"I wanted that closed, Luna." He said, closing his eyes again and waiting for the light to be cut off again. It wasn't. Instead, he got a reply.

"Oh? Were you planning on brooding your life away in here?"

"Yes." He couldn't help but smile at her question. A fact that he despised. He didn't want to smile right now. He wanted to scowl and glare and lament. He couldn't do that while being cheered up.

"Too bad." He tried to scowl at her dismissal of his request. "We have things to do."

"Things?" He wasn't smiling anymore, but he wasn't depressed as far as he could tell. He was simply curious.

"Yes. After all, the war is over. The age of peace is upon us. It's a time for rejoicing and love. And the way I see it, who best to have as a boyfriend then your first, and best, friend." Harry was still nodding along for a few seconds after she stopped talking. Then a very valid point hit him.

"Wait… Boyfriend…First…Who…?" he said each word slowly, trying to find the answer before the end of his disjointed question.

"Well, you, of course." Luna answered simply as she opened up the final curtain in the room and turned to face him for the first time since coming in. "But I can't have a boyfriend who sits in the dark all day, brooding. So you'll have to put your plans on hold for the foreseeable future."

"Me?"

Luna sighed and sat down in front of him, pulling his hands into hers and holding them halfway between the two of them. She then looked him straight in the eye and spoke to him like he was a small child being told something obvious. "Yes… You. I thought it over and you are the best choice. You know me better then anyone else. You treat me with kindness and respect. And, above all, you're the best looking of all the guys available."

"Er… Thank you?"

"Oh, no need to thank me. And no time, either. We have duties to attend to as boyfriend and girlfriend. Like our first date." She stood up and started to pull him out of the room before stopping suddenly. "Oh, how silly of me. I forgot. You're supposed to ask _me_ out. Right stand here and I'll go outside. Then, you knock on the door and ask me out when I answer." So she skipped out of the room and closed the door, leaving a bemused Harry behind.

It took him a few seconds before he remembered Luna was waiting for him to knock. It was best to just do it. The sooner it was finished, after all, the sooner he could get back to brooding. So, he knocked.

"Yes? Oh, Harry. It's you." She smiled at him and waited expectantly. Harry's response didn't come for a while as he had just realized that Luna looked beautiful when she smiled. Her normally far off eyes were focused on him and he felt himself slip away into staring at them. Luna cleared her throat and brought him back to reality. "Was there something you wanted Harry? I'm sorry if I'm being rude but I was just about to hop in the shower."

This made Harry pause as well. Not so much from the bizzarity of the situation but from the images it conjured up. Pushing thoughts of wet, naked Luna from his head, Harry managed to speak at last.

"I…I was wondering if… maybe you wanted to… er… go get something to eat sometime, or see a movie, if you'd like…" He watched Luna frown.

"You mean, on a date?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, I dunno'… I've heard about your previous experiences."

Harry grimaced. Cho was a thankfully short lived disaster and Ginny… Well, he had to use the excuse that he was scared for her safety to 'Take a break'. He had tried both subtle and forceful let downs and breakups with her but she just wouldn't take the hint. He had been planning on avoiding her for the rest of his life now that Voldemort was dead and she'd want to get back together. He didn't have time to go over his avoidance plans again as suddenly Luna smiled again.

"Ok. I'll go out with you. Just one date though. We'll see from there."

"Er… Great." Harry watched her head duck behind the door before it opened fully.

"Not bad, Harry. You didn't shout or rush your words in nervousness. So, where are we going?"

The next day, a barn owl delivered a copy of the Daily prophet with the words, '**Next Dark Lord?**' written on the front in large letters. A half naked man with messy black hair and green eyes read the first few lines of the article before laughing slightly and vanishing the paper. He would later be lightly berated for not saving the crossword but he didn't know that now. Now, his attention was on finding something for breakfast.

Like most visitors looking for breakfast in an unknown house, he settled for coffee, black. It was thrown down the sink after his first taste.

He noted that Luna's apartment had a nice view of a forest and distractedly watched the trees sway until Luna got out of the shower. It was a few seconds after damp arms wrapped around his shoulders that he decided that the scorn and hate of the wizarding world could wait. He had everything he needed right here.

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A/N: And there we go. A one-shot for you people. By all means, review if you wish and I will no doubt love you for it.


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